ChimeraOS 43 has arrived, bringing with it support for the SteamOS-like operating system to the ASUS ROG Ally.
For those yet to hear the name, ChimeraOS is best looked at as an unofficial port of SteamOS. Want the Steam Deck UI on the ASUS ROG Ally? Install ChimeraOS and you can, complete with partial TDP control.
The ChimeraOS devs note the current version disables the differentiated system description table (DSDT) on the Ally. The reason being, by doing this users have complete control over everything in the firmware.
“This decision is made to ensure that users have full control over their firmware settings and can make an informed decision about enabling overrides,” reads the latest ChimeraOS GitHub notes.
“Despite the community’s extensive testing and belief in the safety of the override process, it is important to note that the ChimeraOS team intentionally leaves it up to the user to decide whether to take the ‘risk’ of enabling DSDT overrides.”
In terms of what’s been implemented and what’s still a work in progress, check out the dev notes below:
- Audio support (With DSDT Override enabled)
- Functional WiFi
- Functional face buttons
- Functional Bluetooth
- Experimental partial TDP control in OpenGamepadUI
- Suspend functionality is still a work in progress. We recommend disabling auto suspend on the ROG Ally and shutting the unit down after each gaming session.
If you’re interested in taking ChimeraOS for a spin, there’s a mini-guide over on the ChimeraOS website to get things up and running. The process sounds very similar to getting Windows running on the Steam Deck. It’s essentially: turn the operating system into an image on a USB stick, boot into the ROG Ally’s BIOS, then launch from the USB.
Just keep in mind, you will be turning your ASUS ROG Ally into a Steam Deck, and with that comes the good and the bad. You’ll lose support for native Windows games for a start, and I can’t see how the XG Mobile would be able to function inside of a Linux environment. But that lush SteamOS UI, though! It’s awfully tempting, isn’t it?
If you want to see ChimeraOS in action on the ROG Ally, YouTuber ETA Prime recently took an older version of ChimeraOS for a spin, and while that version wasn’t perfect, the fact it was even possible is freaking cool.
